Method, call processing system and computer-readable media for conveying an audio element to a source device during an outgoing call

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses numerous implementations for conveying an audio element to a source device initiating an outgoing call while a user of the source device is waiting for a user of a destination device to answer the call. A call processing system receives a call request message from the source device, determines an audio element from a plurality of audio elements to convey to the source device and initiates conveyance of the audio element to the source device in response to receiving the call request message. The system then causes establishment of a media connection between the source and destination devices and terminates conveyance of the audio element to the source device prior to or substantially simultaneous with the establishment of the media connection between the source and destination devices. In various implementations, the source device may be implemented within the PSTN and/or an IP network. The audio element may comprise an audio file, an audio stream, scheduling information or other audio content. A subscriber associated with the source device may pre-configure the selection of the audio element to be conveyed in replace of the traditional ring tone. A communication device may also implement a method to convey an audio element to a user of the communication device during establishment of an outgoing call.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims the benefit under 35 USC 119 of U.S.Provisional Patent Application 61/291,833, filed on Dec. 31, 2009 andhereby incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to telecommunications and, moreparticularly, to method, call processing system and computer-readablemedia for conveying an audio element to a source device during anoutgoing call.

BACKGROUND

The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) that has been the backboneof telephony communications for a century is transforming rapidly. Sincethe 1970s, the PSTN has been controlled through a set of signalingprotocols called Signaling System #7 (SS7) developed by theInternational Standardization Sector (ITU-T) of the InternationalTelecommunication Union (ITU). SS7 is also known variously as CommonChannel Signaling System 7 (CCSS7), C7, Number 7 and CCIS7. The SS7network manages the setup and teardown of telephone calls being placedfrom Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) telephones through telephoneexchange switches such as Digital Multiplex System (DMS) switchesmanufactured by Nortel Networks Corporation of Brampton, Canada.

In the past two decades, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)technologies have emerged that directly compete with the wellestablished Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) telephony system. In VoIPnetworks, telephone terminals are coupled to Internet Protocol(IP)-based networks, such as the Internet or private IP networks, andtelephone calls are managed with the use of call processing servers,often called soft switches. The well-established protocol for use withvoice or video calls over IP-based networks is called Session InitiationProtocol (SIP). VoIP calls controlled by SIP and POTS calls controlledby SS7 each currently have advantages and disadvantages. VoIP callsutilize the non-dedicated nature of IP-based networks to transmit voicepackets in an efficient manner via a mesh of routers while POTS callsare dedicated connections via digitally switched circuits. Thisdistinction typically provides operational cost advantages to VoIP (andhence lower prices) while also in some circumstances diminishing thequality and security of the VoIP telephone connection as compared to thetraditional POTS connection.

Another significant distinction between the two telephony technologiesis the flexibility that is often built into the soft switches and SIPused to manage the VoIP call as compared to the traditional telephoneexchange switches, such as the DMS, and SS7 protocols. While a number ofcall service features were launched on the DMS (ex. call forward, callwaiting etc.), the introduction of VoIP and its flexibility has led tosignificant developments in call service features. For example,web-based control of call routing which triggers multiple telephoneterminals to ring simultaneously or in sequence is common within VoIPenvironments.

Despite the advantages of VoIP, a large portion of telephone consumersare remaining with POTS telephones. This is due to many factorsincluding call quality, limitations on 911 services within VoIP andunwillingness to switch from the security of having a communicationsystem in their home/office that has proven over time to be highlyreliable, even during power outages. One downside to this reliance onPOTS technology is that these consumers often cannot be offered new callservice features that are available within VoIP systems. Further, inmany circumstances, the call processing and management of the callservice features within POTS networks may cost the service provider morecompared to similar call processing and call feature management withinVoIP networks.

One call feature that has been growing in popularity over the pastdecade is customized ring tones, in which a telephone subscriber candownload audio files (ex. jingles, segments of music songs) onto theirtelephone to use as an incoming call notification. In some cases, thetelephone subscriber may have multiple ring tones available and assignparticular ring tones to particular potential calling parties. In sodoing, the subscriber can in some circumstances determine who is callingbased upon the ring tone. To date, customized ring tones have primarilybeen focused on subscribers with wireless telephones. They have not beenwidely adopted within POTS or VoIP phones likely due to many factorsincluding technical limitations on the physical devices and bothtechnical and policy limitations on the networks involved (ex. PSTN,private corporate IP networks).

Customized ring tones today are focused on incoming call notification. Auser that initiates a telephony call on a source device hears atraditional ring tone while a user that receives the telephony call on adestination device may hear the customized ring tone. While the userthat receives the telephony call may gain entertainment and/orinformation from the ring tone that he/she hears, the user thatinitiated the telephony call will not receive entertainment orinformation beyond whether the destination device is “ringing” (whenactually it may be playing a customized ring tone) or whether thedestination device is unavailable (“busy signal”).

Against this background, there is a need for solutions that willmitigate at least one of the above problems, particularly enablingadditional call features for the user that initiates a telephony call.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first broad aspect, the invention seeks to provide amethod implemented by a call processing system for controlling anoutgoing call initiated by a source device to a destination device. Themethod comprises receiving a call request message from the sourcedevice, the call request message comprising identifiers of the sourceand destination devices for the outgoing call; determining an audioelement from a plurality of audio elements to convey to the sourcedevice; initiating conveyance of the audio element to the source devicein response to receiving the call request message from the sourcedevice; causing establishment of a media connection between the sourceand destination devices; and terminating conveyance of the audio elementto the source device prior to or substantially simultaneous with theestablishment of the media connection between the source and destinationdevices.

According to a second broad aspect, the invention seeks to provide acall processing system for controlling an outgoing call initiated by asource device to a destination device. The system comprises a processingentity and a network interface. The processing entity is operable toreceive a call request message from the source device, the call requestmessage comprising identifiers of the source and destination devices forthe outgoing call; to determine an audio element from a plurality ofaudio elements to convey to the source device; and to initiateconveyance of the audio element to the source device in response toreceiving the call request message from the source device. The networkinterface is operable to cause establishment of a media connectionbetween the source and destination devices. The processing entity isfurther operable to terminate conveyance of the audio element to thesource device prior to or substantially simultaneous with theestablishment of the media connection between the source and destinationdevices.

According to a third broad aspect, the invention seeks to provide acomputer-readable media containing a program element executable by acall processing system to perform a method for controlling an outgoingcall initiated by a source device to a destination device. Thecomputer-readable media comprises first, second, third, fourth and fifthprogram code. The first program code is for receiving a call requestmessage from the source device, the call request message comprisingidentifiers of the source and destination devices for the outgoing call.The second program code is for determining an audio element from aplurality of audio elements to convey to the source device. The thirdprogram code is for initiating conveyance of the audio element to thesource device in response to receiving the call request message from thesource device. The fourth program code is for causing establishment of amedia connection between the source and destination devices. The fifthprogram code is for terminating conveyance of the audio element to thesource device prior to or substantially simultaneous with theestablishment of the media connection between the source and destinationdevices.

According to a fourth broad aspect, the invention seeks to provide amethod implemented by a call processing system for controlling anoutgoing call initiated by a source device. The method comprises:receiving a selection of an audio element from a user of the sourcedevice; receiving a call request message from the source device, thecall request message comprising identifiers of the source device and adestination device for the outgoing call; initiating conveyance of theaudio element to the source device in response to receiving the callrequest message from the source device; causing establishment of a mediaconnection between the source and destination devices; and terminatingconveyance of the audio element to the source device prior to orsubstantially simultaneous with the establishment of the mediaconnection between the source and destination devices.

According to a fifth broad aspect, the invention seeks to provide a callprocessing system for controlling an outgoing call initiated by a sourcedevice. The system comprises a processing entity and a networkinterface. The processing entity is operable to receive a selection ofan audio element from a user of the source device; to receive a callrequest message from the source device, the call request messagecomprising identifiers of the source device and a destination device forthe outgoing call; and to initiate conveyance of the audio element tothe source device in response to receiving the call request message fromthe source device. The network interface is operable to causeestablishment of a media connection between the source and destinationdevices. The processing entity is further operable to terminateconveyance of the audio element to the source device prior to orsubstantially simultaneous with the establishment of the mediaconnection between the source and destination devices.

These and other aspects of the invention will become apparent to thoseof ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following description ofcertain embodiments of the invention in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A detailed description of embodiments of the invention is providedherein below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a network architecture block diagram according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a logical block diagram of a call processing system accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a signaling diagram for an outgoing call according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart depicting steps performed by a call processingsystem according to an embodiment of the present invention during asignaling stage of an outgoing call;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are network architecture block diagrams illustrating twoexample signaling and media connections potentially resulting from anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart depicting steps performed by a call processingsystem during signaling stages of outgoing calls that may requireinitiation of a call feature according to an example implementation ofthe present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart depicting steps performed by a call processingsystem after a media connection has been established between a sourcedevice of the outgoing call and the call processing system as a resultof logic within FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a network architecture block diagram according to analternative embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a logical diagram of a sample database for use with a callfeature according to embodiments of the present invention;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are simplified network block diagrams illustrating twoexample scenarios for conveying an audio element to a source deviceusing the call processing system of FIG. 2;

FIG. 11 is a logical block diagram of a communication device accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a flow chart depicting steps performed by the communicationdevice of FIG. 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention;and

FIG. 13 is a simplified network block diagram illustrating two examplescenarios for conveying an audio element to a user using thecommunication device of FIG. 11.

It is to be expressly understood that the description and drawings areonly for the purpose of illustration of certain embodiments of theinvention and are an aid for understanding. They are not intended to bea definition of the limits of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is directed to method, call processing system,communication device and computer-readable media for conveying an audioelement to a source device during an outgoing call. As depicted indetail below, within embodiments of the present invention, telephonycalls that are initiated by a source device may be controlled by a callprocessing system within a packet-switched network, such as an IPnetwork. The call processing system can convey an audio element to thesource device prior to establishing the outgoing call with thedestination device to replace the traditional ring tone that a user ofthe source device would normally hear. As described herein in detail,the audio element may be of numerous different forms and the callprocessing system may convey the audio element to the source device in avariety of manners. Further, as described herein, the source device maybe implemented within a network controlled by the SS7 protocol such asthe PSTN or a network controlled by another protocol such as SIP. Asubscriber associated with the source device may pre-configure theselection of the audio element to be conveyed in replace of thetraditional ring tone. A communication device may also implement amethod to convey an audio element to a user of the communication deviceduring establishment of an outgoing call.

FIG. 1 is a network architecture block diagram according to anembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 includes a Public SwitchedTelephone Network (PSTN) 120 which allows users of communicationdevices, such as a first communication device 100, to effect telephoniccommunications (ex. receive and originate calls).

Various types of communication devices may be used by users to effecttelephonic communications over the PSTN 120. For example, in variousembodiments, a communication device used by a user (such ascommunication device 100) may be a wired Plain Old Telephony System(POTS) phone (including a cordless phone), a wireless phone (ex. acellular phone or other mobile communication device, including atelephony-enabled Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)) or anothercommunication device that can either directly or through another networkinterconnect with the PSTN 120.

As shown, the first communication device 100 is coupled to a ServiceSwitching Point (SSP) 102. The SSP 102 is further coupled to one or moreSignal Transfer Points (STPs), such as STP 104, and the STP 104 isfurther coupled to one or more Service Control Points (SCPs), such asSCP 105. One skilled in the art would understand the normal operation ofthe SSP 102, STP 104 and SCP 105 in establishing well-known telephoniccommunications between the communication device 100 and anothercommunication device within the PSTN or within a VoIP network. The SSP102 is a telephone switch equipped with SS7-capable software whichterminates signaling links. The SSP 102 would generally originate,terminate or switch telephonic calls for wireline or wirelesscommunication devices. In the case of wireless communication devices,the SSP 102 may comprise a wireless network switch or may comprise aplurality of entities that together allow a wireless communicationdevice to originate, terminate or switch telephonic calls. The STP 104is a packet switch of the SS7 network that receives and routes incomingsignaling messages towards the proper destination and performsspecialized routing functions. The SCP 105 is a database that providesinformation necessary for advanced call-processing capabilities. In oneexample, the SSP 102 can be implemented with a DMS-100 (DigitalMultiplex System-100) telephone switch produced by Nortel Networks ofBrampton, Canada; the STP 104 can be implemented with a Broadband STPproduced by Nortel Networks of Brampton, Canada; and the SCP 105 can beimplemented with an ISCP System produced by Telcordia Technologies Inc.of Piscataway, N.J.

Further shown in FIG. 1, a signaling converter 106 and a media gateway110 are each coupled between the PSTN 120 and a data network 130. Inthis implementation, the data network 130 is based on the IP standardand therefore will be herein referred to as IP network 130, though datanetworks with alternative routing protocols could be used. The signalingprotocol used within the IP network 130, according to some embodimentsof the present invention, is Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), awell-known standard for Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) signaling.Therefore, the signaling converter 106 is an SS7/SIP converter inexample embodiments described herein, as its primary purpose is totranslate between SS7 signaling messages within the PSTN 120 and SIPmessages within the IP network 130. One example product that can operateas the signaling converter 106 is an Internetwork Services SignalingGateway (ISSG) produced by Nortel Networks Inc. of Brampton, Canada. Themedia gateway 110 is a PSTN/IP gateway in example embodiments describedherein, as its primary purpose is to couple media connections (ex. voicecircuits) within the PSTN 120 with media connections in the IP network130. One example product that can operate as the media gateway 110 is aPacket Voice Gateway (PVG) produced by Nortel Networks Inc. of Brampton,Canada.

Also depicted within FIG. 1 is a call processing system 108 within theIP network 130 which can communicate with both the signaling converter106 and the media gateway 110. Further, a second communication device112 is shown that is coupled to the IP network 130 via a communicationsnetwork 140. The communication device 112, as described in detail below,can be a destination for an outgoing call initiated by the firstcommunication device 100. In this case, the communication device 112 maybe a wired POTS phone (including a cordless phone), a wireless phone(ex. a cellular phone or other mobile communication device, including atelephony-enabled PDA), a VoIP phone, a POTS phone equipped with ananalog terminal adaptor (ATA), a softphone (i.e. a computer equippedwith telephony software), or a telephony-enabled television unit (ex. aset-top box connected to a television and a remote control). Thecommunications network 140 may comprise a portion of one or more of thePSTN, a wireless network (ex. a cellular network), and a data network(ex. IP network 130).

The call processing system 108, according to some embodiments of thepresent invention, comprises an IP server that manages SIP messageprocessing and further routes media packets (ex. VoIP packets) over theIP network 130. In some example implementations, the call processingsystem 108 comprises a soft switch such as a Broadworks ApplicationServer produced by Broadsoft Inc. of Gaithersburg, Md.

FIG. 2 is a logical block diagram of the call processing system 108according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this sampleimplementation, the call processing system 108 comprises a processingentity 202 coupled to a database 204. Further, the processing entity 202is coupled to a plurality of network interfaces, shown in FIG. 2 asnetwork interfaces 206A, 206B, that are each coupled to the IP network130. The processing entity 202 can receive/transmit SIP messages andmedia packets from/to various entities within the IP network 130 via theplurality of network interfaces 206A, 206B. The processing entity 202,as will be described herein below in detail for a number of specificimplementations, can analyze received SIP messages, conduct look-upswithin the database 204 and determine appropriate SIP message responses.Further, the processing entity 202, as will also be described in detailbelow for a number of specific implementations, can perform numerousmedia packet processing tasks including but not limited to receiving,analyzing, generating, transmitting and routing media packets. It shouldbe understood that, although depicted as a single element, theprocessing entity 202 could comprise a plurality of elements thattogether operate to provide the functionality as described herein below.

The database 204 can store application and customer specific informationas will be described herein below. For instance, the database 204 maystore call feature related information, customer specific settings forcall features, subscription information, customer authenticationinformation, standard call feature message information or other customeror service provider information that may be needed to process SIPmessages and/or media packets according to embodiments of the presentinvention. It should be understood that, although depicted as a singleelement within the call processing system 108, the database 204 couldcomprise one or more remote storage elements coupled to the processingentity 202 via one or more of the network interfaces 206A, 206B; aplurality of storage elements within the call processing system 108; ora combination of remote and local storage elements.

FIGS. 3 and 4 will be used as reference for a description of an outgoingcall flow according to an embodiment of the present invention thatutilizes the network architecture shown in FIG. 1. The signaling flowfor an outgoing call is initiated upon a user activating thecommunication device 100 and attempting to make an outgoing call to adestination party by transmitting a destination identifier associatedwith the desired destination party to the SSP 102. For instance, in caseof the communication device being a POTS telephone, the user canactivate the communication device by taking the device “off hook” andcan transmit the destination identifier by pressing Dual-ToneMulti-Frequency (DTMF) keys that together comprise a telephone numberassociated with the destination party on a keypad of the communicationdevice 100. In other embodiments, the user may activate thecommunication device 100 and transmit the destination identifier inother manners. For instance, in some embodiments, the communicationdevice has an address book from which the user may select a destinationidentifier based upon destination name or other associated identifier,this destination identifier being transmitted via DTMF tones or othermeans to the SSP 102. In other embodiments, the communication device 100may have a “send” or “talk” selection option which when selectedtriggers the transmission of the destination identifier to the SSP 102,which in some implementations may comprise a wireless network switch,after the destination identifier has been selected by the user. Thistransmission of the destination identifier after the “send” or “talk”selection option has been made could also be seen as the activation ofthe communication device 100.

At this stage, the SSP 102 detects the activation of the communicationdevice 100 and receives the destination identifier, thus receiving anoutgoing call initiation from the communication device 100. In the caseof the communication device 100 being a POTS telephone, the SSP 102 canhave an Off Hook Delay (OHD) trigger associated with the communicationdevice 100 which is detected when the communication device 100 goes “offhook” and a valid telephone number is interpreted from the received DTMFtones. Given that the OHD trigger is enabled, the SSP 102 can beassigned to transmit a TCAP message to the STP 104 for delivery to aspecific destination such as the call processing system 108 via thesignaling converter 106. The TCAP message, according to embodiments ofthe present invention, comprises the destination identifier (ex. atelephone number associated with the desired destination party) as wellas a source identifier associated with the originator of the outgoingcall (ex. a telephone number associated with the communication device100). The communication device 100 that is used to originate theoutgoing call can also be referred to as the source device while acommunication device associated with the destination identifier can bereferred to as the destination device.

The SSP 102 may have OHD triggers as described assigned to specificsubscribers due to call features that the subscriber has enabled.Alternatively, a service provider that manages the SSP 102 may assignthe OHD trigger as described to subscribers that it wishes tocommunicate with. Further, a service provider may assign the OHD triggeras described to all subscribers if specific features or functionalityimplemented with the call processing system 108 may be necessary for anysubscriber. As will be described herein below in detail, the OHD triggeras described is assigned to subscribers that may require call processingfrom the call processing system 108.

FIG. 3 is a signaling diagram for an outgoing call according to anembodiment of the present invention. In this figure, the SSP 102transmits the TCAP message described above (including the destinationand source identifiers) as message 302 to the STP 104. The STP 104forwards this TCAP message to the signaling converter 106 as message 304as a result of routing instructions received from the SSP 102. Thesignaling converter 106 receives the TCAP message and translates it intoa SIP message that comprises a call request message including thedestination and source identifiers. The signaling converter 106subsequently initiates a SIP communication session 306 with the callprocessing system 108 and transmits the call request message to the callprocessing system 108.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart depicting steps performed by the call processingsystem 108, according to an embodiment of the present invention, uponreception of the call request message from the signaling converter 106.As shown, the call processing system 108 receives the call requestmessage at step 402. This call request message may be received at theprocessing entity 202 via one of the network interfaces 206A, 206B andmay be a first message within a SIP session with the signaling converter106. As described above, the call request message comprises thedestination and source information for the initiated outgoing call.

At step 404, the processing entity 202 processes one or both of thesource and destination identifiers. A specific example of processing ofthe source and/or destination identifiers is described in detail hereinwith reference to FIG. 6. The processing of the source and/ordestination identifiers may be performed with information stored withinthe database 204 or other sources of information external to the callprocessing system 108. In embodiments of the present invention, specificprocessing results can occur due to a call feature that a subscriberassociated with the source device has subscribed to, call featuresettings for specific subscribers and/or the service provider's desireto contact a subscriber.

The processing of the source and/or destination identifiers at step 404leads to a decision being made by the processing entity 202 at step 406.In particular, the processing entity 202 determines whether to takecontrol of the outgoing call. The processing entity 202 can determine totake control of the outgoing call for many reasons including, but notlimited to, enabling a selected audio element to be conveyed to the userof the source device while waiting for the destination device to answerthe call and/or other actions as may be desired by the user of thesource device or the service provider. Specific examples of decisionsfor a specific application will be described in more detail herein.

If the processing entity 202 determines to take control of the call atstep 406, the processing entity 202, according to embodiments of thepresent invention, causes the transmission of a call route message atstep 408. The call route message can take the form of a number ofdifferent SIP messages including, but not limited to, a 200 OK SIPmessage or another message that would indicate that the outgoing callshould be routed to the call processing system 108. The call routemessage may indicate trunks that the outgoing call should be routed toin order to enable the outgoing call to be routed via the media gateway110 to the call processing system 108. The call route message may besent via one of the network interfaces 206A, 206B to the signalingconverter 106 as shown as message 308 in FIG. 3. The signaling converter106 then translates the call route message into a TCAP Call Routemessage and routes the TCAP Call Route message to the STP 104 asindicated by message 310. The TCAP Call Route message indicates that theoutgoing call should be routed to the call processing system 108 via themedia gateway 110. The STP 104 routes the TCAP Call Route message to theSSP 102 as shown as message 312. The SSP 102 will subsequently switchthe media connection of the outgoing call from the communication device100 through trunks within the PSTN 120 to the media gateway 110 as shownby media connection 314. The media gateway 110 then initiates a SIPsession with call processing system 108 to establish media connection316. At this point, there is a media connection between thecommunication device 100, via the SSP 102 and the media gateway 110, tothe call processing system 108.

If the processing entity 202 determines not to take control of the callat step 406, the processing entity 202, according to embodiments of thepresent invention, causes the transmission of a call rejection messageat step 410. The call rejection message can take the form of a number ofdifferent SIP messages including, but not limited to, a serviceunavailable message, an error message, an unauthorized call message, aservice not implemented message or another message that would indicaterejection of the outgoing call by the processing entity 202. The callrejection message may be sent via one of the network interfaces 206A,206B to the signaling converter 106 as shown as message 318 in FIG. 3.The signaling converter 106 then translates the call rejection messageinto a TCAP Continue message and routes the TCAP Continue message to theSTP 104 as indicated by message 320. The TCAP Continue message indicatesthat the outgoing call should be processed as normal by the SSP 102(i.e. without the use of the call processing system 108). The STP 104routes the TCAP Continue message to the SSP 102 as shown as message 322.The SSP 102 will subsequently process the outgoing call using thedestination identifier as normal using SS7 signaling, potentiallyrequiring a look-up within the SCP 105 or the use of toll switches (notshown) as one skilled in the art would understand.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are network architecture block diagrams illustrating twoexample signaling and media connections potentially resulting from anembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5A illustrates a similarnetwork architecture to that described above for FIG. 1 and so likecomponents have been identified with the same reference numbers. Asshown, a media connection 502 is established between the communicationdevice 100 and the SSP 102. This media connection may be establishedupon the user of the communication device 100 taking the device off hookand dialing a set of DTMF keys to indicate the desire to initiate anoutgoing call to a destination device, in this case communication device112. As described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the SSP 102 initiatesSS7 signaling 504 via the STP 104 to the signaling converter 106 inresponse to detecting the OHD trigger. The signaling converter 106subsequently translates the SS7 signaling to SIP messages andcommunicates the messages with the call processing system 108 over a SIPsession 506. In the example of FIG. 5A, the call processing system 108responds with a call route message that indicates that it wants tocontrol the outgoing call and for the media connection to be connectedto the call processing system 108. This message is communicated back tothe SSP 102 via the SIP session 506, the signaling converter 106 and theSS7 signaling 504 (as a TCAP Call Route message). In response, the SSP102 establishes trunks 508 between itself and the media gateway 110 andthe media gateway 110 establishes a media connection 510 with the callprocessing system 108.

The call processing system 108 at this stage then has a media connectionwith the communication device 100 and knows the source and destinationidentifiers for the outgoing call. The call processing system 108 mayconduct numerous different actions at this point, an example of whichwill be described in detail for a specific application with reference toFIG. 7. In general, the call processing system 108 may enable a widevariety of functionality after the media connection to the communicationdevice 100 is established including, but not limited to, conveying anaudio element to the user of the source device while the user awaits thedestination device to accept the call, routing the outgoing call usingthe destination identifier and/or other actions that a service providermay desire to enable. In the example depicted in FIG. 5A, the callprocessing system 108, possibly along with other functions, establishesa media connection 512 to the communications network 140 that controlsthe communication device 112. The communications network 140 may thenestablish a media connection 514 with the communication device 112,which together with media connections 502, 508, 510 and 512 can allowfor the establishment of a complete media connection between the firstcommunication device 100 (the source device) and the secondcommunication device 112 (the destination device).

FIG. 5B illustrates a similar network architecture to that described forFIG. 5A and similar components and signaling are labeled with similarreference numbers. In this example, the call processing system 108decides not to take control of the outgoing call and therefore respondswith a call reject message that indicates that it does not want tocontrol the outgoing call and for the outgoing call to be routed in anormal SS7 signaling manner. This message is communicated back to theSSP 102 via the SIP session 506, the signaling converter 106 and the SS7signaling 504 (as a TCAP Continue message).

In the example of FIG. 5B, the communication device 112 is a POTStelephone and the communications network 140 is a portion of the PSTN.As shown, the communication device 112 is coupled to a second SSP 102Aand the SSP 102A is coupled to a second STP 104A. Through PSTN/SS7trunks, the SSP 102 is coupled to the second SSP 102A and the STP 104 iscoupled to the second STP 104A. When the SSP 102 receives the TCAPContinue message, it proceeds to initiate SS7 signaling 516 via the STP104 and the second STP 104A to the second SSP 102A. The SS7 signaling516 enables the establishment of a media connection 518 between the SSP102 and the second SSP 102A. At this stage, the SSP 102A may enable amedia connection 520 between itself and the communication device 112,which together with media connections 502 and 518 can allow for theestablishment of a complete media connection between the firstcommunication device 100 (the source device) and the secondcommunication device 112 (the destination device).

Control logic implemented within the processing entity 202 of the callprocessing system 108 for an example implementation of the presentinvention are described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart depicting steps performed by the processingentity 202 within the call processing system 108 during signaling stagesof outgoing calls that may require initiation of a call featureaccording to an example implementation of the present invention. Asshown in FIG. 6, the processing entity 202 receives a call requestmessage at step 602 similar to previously described step 402 of FIG. 4.The call request message comprises source and destination identifiersfor the outgoing call. At step 604, the processing entity 202 analyzesthe source identifier (and possibly also the destination identifier) todetermine whether a call feature should be initiated. This determinationcan be performed in a number of different manners. In oneimplementation, the processing entity 202 can perform a look-up withinthe database 204 or another storage entity external to the callprocessing system 108 to determine whether the user of the source deviceis subscribed to a call feature that would require the call processingsystem 108 to control the outgoing call. In some implementations, theuser can set call feature settings with a customer servicerepresentative or through online tools. In other implementations, theservice provider could subscribe a customer to a call feature orpotentially could enable a call feature for all or a defined set ofcustomers.

In the example of FIG. 6, if the processing entity 202 determines that acall feature that requires the call processing system 108 to takecontrol of the outgoing call does not need to be initiated, theprocessing entity 202 decides not to take control of the outgoing calland causes the transmission of a call reject message at step 606,similar to the step 410 within FIG. 4. In this case, the outgoing callwill be established using standard SS7 signaling techniques withoutcontrol by the call processing system 108.

If the processing entity 202 determines that a call feature thatrequires the call processing system 108 to take control of the outgoingcall does need to be initiated, the processing entity 202 decides totake control of the outgoing call and causes the transmission of a callroute message at step 608, similar to the step 408 within FIG. 4. Inthis case, as is described in detail above, a media connection will beestablished between the source device and the call processing system108. This media connection can allow the call processing system 108 toperform a number of call features, such as a call feature to convey anaudio element to the source device prior to the establishment of theoutgoing call, which will be described in detail with reference to FIG.7.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart depicting steps performed by the processingentity 202 within the call processing system 108 after a mediaconnection has been established between the source device and the callprocessing system 108 as a result of the transmission of the call routemessage at step 608 of FIG. 6. FIG. 7 is directed to an exampleimplementation of the present invention in which the call featureenables a customized audio element to be conveyed to a user of thesource device prior to the establishment of the outgoing call. Thiscustomized audio element can be a replacement for the standard ring toneand can provide information, entertainment and/or other benefits.

Within the example implementation of FIG. 7, the processing entity 202first establishes a media connection with the source device at step 702.Next, at step 704, the processing entity 202 conducts a look-up todetermine an audio element to be conveyed to the source device prior tothe establishment of the call. The processing entity 202 can perform thelook-up on the database 204 and/or another storage entity external tothe call processing system 108. In some embodiments, the sourceidentifier can be used as a reference to locate the audio element. Inother embodiments, the destination identifier can be used or can be usedin combination with the source identifier. In yet further embodiments,neither the source identifier nor the destination identifier is used inthe look-up, but instead the audio element is selected based on serviceprovider settings, a random algorithm, a predetermined order, temporalinformation and/or based upon another selection algorithm.

The audio element can be seen as a replacement for the standard ringtone audio that is heard by the user of the source device while waitingfor the destination device to accept the call. The audio element cantake many different forms in various implementations of the presentinvention. In some example implementations, during a provisioning stage,a subscriber of service on the source device may select an audio elementfrom a set of potential audio elements offered by a service provider. Inthis case, the call processing system 108 or another entity enabled bythe service provider may offer a plurality of potential audio elementsto the subscriber and subsequently receive selection information fromthe subscriber, the selection information comprising an indication of atleast one of the plurality of audio elements. The selection informationmay comprise an indication of at least one audio file and/or maycomprise an indication of at least one audio stream broadcast on the IPnetwork 130. In other embodiments, the subscriber may provide the callprocessing system 108 or another entity controlled by the serviceprovider with one or more audio elements that he/she would like to hearwhile waiting for the destination to accept an outgoing call.

The audio element provided by the subscriber may be one or more audiofiles or a playlist of audio files. For instance, the subscriber mayselect/provide a particular song (ex “Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin or “DeadPuppies Are So Not Cool” by Samantha and the Cramps), a jingle (ex.seasonal melodies), elevator music, a motivational statement, a voicememo generated by the subscriber or another audio element as desired bythe subscriber. In some implementations, the subscriber may selectand/or provide a plurality of audio elements and the processing entity202 may select one of these audio elements based on a random algorithm,a predetermined order within a list or another condition such astemporal information (time of day, week, year, etc.). In this case, thecall processing system 108 may associate a subset of potential audioelements to the source identifier and may select within the subset ofaudio elements based on a random algorithm, predetermined order,temporal information, etc.

In some implementations, the audio element(s) may be stored within thedatabase 204 or another storage entity external to the call processingsystem 108 and may be referenced using the source identifier. In otherimplementations, a location identifier is stored within the database 204or another storage entity external to the call processing system 108 andmay be referenced using the source identifier. The location identifiercan be used to extract the audio element(s) by the processing entity 202from network components within the IP network 130. For example, alocation identifier could comprise a URL, a lookup reference within anaudio element database or another identifier that allows the processingentity 202 to locate the audio element(s) within or outside of the IPnetwork 130.

In some alternative embodiments, the subscriber may select an audioelement that is provided by an audio stream source; either transmittedin real time at the time of the outgoing call or a static streamtransmitted repetitively. For instance, in some implementations, thesubscriber may select a radio broadcast, an audio portion of atelevision broadcast, a playlist of songs, a service announcementbroadcast, a set of one or more advertisement messages, a reading ofinformation (ex. news, weather, sport scores, stock quotes, a magazine,a newspaper, a podcast, a social media update (ex. Facebook, Twitter),etc.) or another audio stream that can be broadcast by an audio streamsource and conveyed to a user of the source device at the time of anoutgoing call. In some implementations, a location identifier associatedwith the audio stream source is stored within the database 204 oranother storage entity external to the call processing system 108 andmay be referenced using the source identifier. The location identifiercan be used by the processing entity 202 to locate and connect to anaudio stream from the audio stream source. For example, a locationidentifier could comprise a URL, a lookup reference within a databasefor the audio stream source or another identifier that allows theprocessing entity 202 to locate the audio stream source within oroutside of the IP network 130.

In other alternative embodiments, the processing entity 202 can generatean audio element that is an audio representation of schedulinginformation associated with the subscriber of the source device afteraccessing the scheduling information from a source of schedulinginformation associated with the subscriber. The source of schedulinginformation may be an application in which the user has storedscheduling information. The scheduling information could be storedwithin the database 204 or another storage entity external to the callprocessing system 108. In some examples, the scheduling informationcould be stored in a network component (not shown) within the IP network130 or another data network coupled to the IP network 130. In this case,the network component may run a scheduling application, such as Outlook™produced by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. or Google Calendarproduced by Google Inc. of Mountain View, Calif. The processing entity202 may use the source identifier as a reference within a database, suchas the database 204, to access the location and login credentialinformation of the scheduling information. The processing entity 202 maythen access the scheduling information from the network componentstoring the scheduling information through the IP network 130. Inanother example, the scheduling information could be stored on thesource device, for instance, within an application residing on thesource device. In this case, the processing entity 202 may communicatewith the application on the source device to access the schedulinginformation associated with the subscriber. The scheduling information,once accessed, can be used by the processing entity 202 to generate anaudio element for the source device. In a particular example, theprocessing entity 202 could enable a text to voice function in order tocreate an audio element that is an audio representation of one or moreevents within the scheduling information. The processing entity 202 mayuse the event(s) that will occur next to create the audio element. Forexample, if the subscriber has a dentist appointment at 10 am onDecember 14^(th) and the user of the source device initiates an outgoingcall at 9 am on December 14^(th), the processing entity 202 may extractscheduling information related to the dentist appointment from ascheduling program, determine that the dentist appointment is the nextevent within the scheduling information and generate an audio elementsuch as “Reminder: You have a dentist appointment at 10 am today”. Theprocessing entity 202 could also determine the relative time until theevent and generate an audio element such as “Reminder: You have adentist appointment in one hour”. In alternative embodiments, a separateprocessing entity within the IP network 130 could be used to generatethe audio element from the scheduling information.

In further alternative embodiments, instead of using the sourceidentifier or along with using the source identifier, the processingentity 202 can use the destination identifier to determine an audioelement to convey to the source device. In some implementations, aparticular destination identifier may be associated with a particularaudio element. For example, a destination identifier may be linked to areminder message, such as “David's birthday is on December 28^(th)”. Theprocessing entity 202 may look-up the audio element in this case byusing the destination identifier as a reference within the database 204or another storage entity external to the call processing system 108. Insome implementations, a subscriber may enable customized audio elementsfor particular destination identifiers. In this case, the processingentity may utilize the source identifier to locate informationassociated with the subscriber within the database 204 or anotherstorage entity external to the call processing system 108 and utilizethe destination identifier to locate one or more particular audioelement(s) to be conveyed to the source device. For example, asubscriber may set-up one or more memo messages related to a particularindividual associated with a destination identifier; link a particulardestination identifier to reminder information; link an audio file to aparticular destination identifier; or otherwise associate a particularaudio element to a destination identifier. In one example, a subscribermay record a voice memo for a particular destination identifier toremind them of fact(s) concerning an individual associated with thedestination identifier. In this case, the audio element may comprise“Bill does not like being called William. His wife's name is Dorothy.His son Luke plays hockey and his daughter Emma competes in diving. Billnormally orders 20 boxes of high gloss paper.” As described above, theaudio element(s) or location information associated with the audioelement(s) may be stored within the database 204 or another storageentity external to the call processing system 108.

In other embodiments, the service provider or another third party mayselect audio elements that are to be conveyed to the source device. Inthese cases, audio elements may be linked directly to the sourceidentifier, the destination identifier or a combination of the sourceand destination identifiers; or may not be linked to either of thesource and destination identifiers but rather may be a general audioelement. In some examples, the audio elements in this case may comprisegeneral information from the service provider (ex. service interruptioninformation, billing information, marketing information, seasonalgreeting information, public service information, etc.) or advertisinginformation from third parties as selected by the service provider or bya third party. The advertisements, in some implementations, may belinked to information known by the service provider concerning thesubscriber and/or an entity associated with the destination identifier.As described above, the audio element(s) or location informationassociated with the audio element(s) may be stored within the database204 or another storage entity external to the call processing system108.

As shown in FIG. 7, once the processing entity 202 has looked up theaudio element to be conveyed to the source device at step 704, theprocessing entity 202 initiates the conveyance of the audio element tothe source device at step 706. The conveyance of the audio element maycomprise playing the audio element over the media connection with thesource device. In alternative embodiments, the processing entity 202 mayalternatively connect an audio stream source to the media connectionwith the source device. It should be understood that the means forconveyance of the audio element to the source device may be determinedat least partially upon the audio element that is to be conveyed. Theconveyance of an audio element to a source device for two examplescenarios will be described with reference to FIGS. 10A and 10B.

In some embodiments of the present invention, other media elements couldbe conveyed to the source device along with or instead of an audioelement. For example, if the source device can support a display capableof projecting visual data such as video, images and/or text (ex.multimodal phones, smart phones, computer screen associated with thesource device etc.), the processing entity 202 could look-up other mediaelements such as video, images or text information and transmit theseother media elements to the source device. In this case, a user of thesource device may be able to view video, images and/or text informationon a display of the source device prior to (and possibly during) thecall being established between the source and destination devices.Similar to the various embodiments described, the other media elementscould include information selected by a subscriber associated with thesource device, information related to an entity associated with thedestination identifier (ex. memos related to the entity, images/videosof the entity, etc.), information selected by a service provider orthird party (ex. alert, advertisement, account information, etc.) orother data that can be visually displayed on a screen at the sourcedevice.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the processing entity 202determines whether the audio element being conveyed has a minimum timethat is required at step 708. A minimum time may be required or desiredfor the conveying of an audio element if particular information isrequired or desired to be conveyed to the user of the source deviceprior to the outgoing call being established with the destinationdevice. This may be the case for audio elements such as voice memos,reminders, or other audio elements that convey information. If a minimumtime is required at step 708, the processing entity 202 will wait therequired minimum time at step 710. The processing entity 202 may beprovided with minimum time information along with the audio element ormay receive an indication that signifies that the full audio elementneeds to be played. It should be understood that in some embodiments, nominimum time requirement is needed and steps 708 and 710 are notimplemented by the processing entity 202.

If the minimum time is not required at step 708 or if the minimum timehas expired at step 710, the processing entity 202 causes the initiationof a call to the destination device using the destination identifier atstep 712. In some embodiments, the initiation of a call to thedestination device occurs only after the minimum time has expired atstep 710 though, in other embodiments, no such delay may occur. Theinitiation of the call can be performed in many manners and will dependupon the network that the destination device is connected and theprotocols the network utilizes.

After causing initiation of the call to the destination device at step712, the processing entity waits for the destination device to answerthe call at step 714. During this waiting period, when a traditional“ring tone” audio would normally be provided to the source device, theprocessing entity 202, according to embodiments of the presentinvention, continues to convey the audio element(s) to the sourcedevice. If the audio element ends during this waiting period, theprocessing entity 202 may either convey the audio element an additionaltime, convey another audio element (ex. another song, ring tone) or stopconveying audio to the source device.

Once the destination device answers the call, the processing entity 202,as depicted in step 716, proceeds to terminate the conveying of theaudio element and cause a media connection to be established between thesource device and the desired destination device. The terminatingconveying of the audio element may be prior to or substantiallysimultaneous with the establishment of the media connection between thesource and destination devices. This media connection can be establishedin a number of manners. In one example, the processing entity 202 causesthe establishment of a media connection between the call processingsystem 108 and the destination device and subsequently bridges it withthe already established media connection between the source device andthe call processing system 108. Other techniques for the call processingsystem 108 to connect the source and destination devices should beunderstood.

Although the description of embodiments above are directed toimplementations in which the source device (communication device 100 ofFIG. 1) is coupled to the SSP 102 and the SSP 102 utilizes SS7 signalingto control outgoing calls from the source device, it should beunderstood that the call feature described with reference to FIG. 7could be applied to other implementations. For instance, in embodimentsof the present invention, the source device may comprise a VoIP enableddevice controlled by SIP signaling and outgoing calls from the sourcedevice may be controlled by a call processing system similar to the callprocessing system 108 of FIG. 1. An example network architectureaccording to this embodiment is described with reference to FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 depicts a network architecture block diagram similar to thatdepicted in FIG. 1 with like components being provided with likereference numerals. Within FIG. 8, the communication device 100 has beenreplaced with a communication device 800 and the PSTN 120 has beenreplaced with a communication network 820. The communication device 800comprises any one of a VoIP phone (wireline or wireless), a POTS phoneequipped with an analog terminal adaptor (ATA), a softphone (i.e. acomputer equipped with telephony software), or a telephony-enabledtelevision unit (ex. a set-top box connected to a television and aremote control). The communications network 820 may comprise a portionof one or more data networks (ex. the Internet, IP network 130, aprivate IP network) and/or a wireless network (ex. a cellular network).In this architecture, the communication device 800 may initiate outgoingtelephony calls via the communication network 820 using a signalingprotocol such as SIP.

In one particular example implementation, the communication device 800may have its incoming/outgoing calls controlled by call processingsystem 108. As described, the call processing system 108 may compriseone or more servers that enable soft switch functionality for VoIPcalls. In this example, when the communication device 800 initiates anoutgoing call, the device 800 may send a call request message in theform of a SIP invite to the call processing system 108 via the network820 and the network 130. The SIP invite may include a source identifierthat identifies the communication device 800 (ex. telephone number, IPaddress, URL, SIP URI, MAC address etc) and a destination identifierthat identifies a desired destination device (ex. potentiallycommunication device 112 within FIG. 8). The call processing system 108can then manage the establishment of a media connection between thecommunication device 800 and its desired destination device. As well,the call processing system 108 can implement call features, including acall feature similar to that described above with reference to FIG. 7for conveying an audio element to the source device prior toestablishment of the outgoing call. In particular, upon receiving a SIPinvite from the communication device 800, the call processing system 108can establish a media connection with the communication device 800similar to that described in step 702 within FIG. 7. The remaining stepsof the process depicted in FIG. 7 can then proceed in a similar manner.

FIG. 9 is a logical diagram of a sample database for use with the callfeature of FIG. 7 according to an example implementation of the presentinvention. As depicted, the database of FIG. 9 is shown as comprisingthe database 204 of FIG. 2. It should be understood that the database ofFIG. 9 could comprise another storage entity external to the callprocessing system 108 and may comprise a plurality of entities thattogether operate as a database.

As shown in FIG. 9, the database 204 comprises a plurality of dataentries 902 ₁, 902 ₂, 902 ₃, 902 ₄ . . . 902 _(N), in this case,totaling N entries. Each of the data entries 902 ₁, 902 ₂, 902 ₃, 902 ₄. . . 902 _(N) comprises source information 904 that comprises one ormore source identifiers that uniquely identify the entry and allows fora look-up by the processing entity 202. The source identifiers 904 maycomprise any uniquely addressable identifier including, but not limitedto, a telephone number, an IP address, a URL, a SIP URI, MAC addressetc. Each entry may be linked to a single subscriber, a plurality ofsubscribers or a group of subscribers (such as a corporation, family,team etc.) and may comprise one or more source identifiers within thesource information 904. A plurality of source identifiers within thesource information 904 may be desired in the case that a subscriber hasa plurality of telephonic devices, each of which having a correspondingidentifier.

Further depicted in FIG. 9, each data entry 902 ₁, 902 ₂, 902 ₃, 902 ₄ .. . 902 _(N) comprises an indication of one or more audio elements 906.As described above, audio elements may comprise a variety of differentforms. For instance, in some implementations, the audio element maycomprise a particular song, a jingle, elevator music, a motivationalstatement, a voice memo generated by the subscriber or another audioelement as desired by the subscriber. The indication of the audioelements 906 may comprise the actual audio element or a locationidentifier that identifies a storage location for the audio element, thelocation identifier in some embodiments comprising a URL, a lookupreference within an audio element database or another identifier thatallows the processing entity 202 to locate the audio element(s) withinor outside of the IP network 130. Further, the audio element maycomprise an audio stream provided by an audio stream source; eitherprovided in an audio stream in real time at the time of the outgoingcall or a static repetitive stream. For example, the audio stream maycomprise a radio broadcast, an audio portion of a television broadcast,a playlist of songs, a service announcement broadcast; a set of one ormore advertisement messages, a reading of information (ex. news,weather, sport scores, stock quotes, a magazine, a newspaper, a podcast,a social media update (ex. Facebook, Twitter), etc.) or another audiostream that can be broadcast by an audio stream source and conveyed to auser of the source device at the time of an outgoing call.

Yet further, the audio element may comprise scheduling informationassociated to a user of the source device or related to information thatis known concerning a user of the destination device. Even further, theaudio element may comprise general information from the service provider(ex. service interruption information, billing information, marketinginformation, seasonal greeting information, public service information,etc.), advertising information from third parties as selected by theservice provider or by a third party, one or more memo messages relatedto a particular individual linked to a particular destinationidentifier; reminder information linked to a particular destinationidentifier; a particular song, jingle, elevator music or motivationmessage linked to a particular destination identifier; or otherwise aparticular audio element linked to a particular destination identifier.

Yet further, the data entries 902 ₁, 902 ₂, 902 ₃, 902 ₄ . . . 902 _(N)of FIG. 9 may comprise condition information 908, the conditioninformation 908 dictating, in some data entries, conditions that need toapply in order for particular audio elements 906 to be conveyed to asource device. The condition information 908 may comprise a selectionalgorithm (ex. random, sequential, playlist predetermined order), atemporal condition (ex. time of day, week, year, etc.), a conditionrelated to one or more particular destination identifiers, a conditionrelated to information within a scheduling program or any otherconditions as may be set by a subscriber, a service provider or a thirdparty.

In the particular example implementation shown in FIG. 9, data entry 902₁ contains a source identifier 416-888-1234 as source information 904.This source identifier is a telephone number associated to a subscriberto the call feature. The data entry 902 ₁ further contains a song“Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin as an indication of an audio element 906. Thisindication may comprise an actual file with the song (ex. MP3) or maycomprise location information for locating the song within a storageentity. In the case of data entry 902 ₁, there are no conditions withinthe condition information 908 and therefore this song is selected to beplayed to a source device associated with the particular sourceidentifier for all outgoing calls.

As shown, data entry 902 ₂ contains a source identifier 613-777-4321 assource information 904. This source identifier is a telephone numberassociated to a subscriber to the call feature. The data entry dataentry 902 ₂ further contains a URL for an MP3 playlist as an indicationof an audio element 906. This indication provides location informationfor locating an MP3 playlist on the Internet. In the case of data entry902 ₂, there is one condition within the condition information 908, thatis that songs within the MP3 playlist be played with a random selectionorder during outgoing calls.

Within FIG. 9, data entry 902 ₃ contains source identifiers 613-777-2222and 613-333-2222 as source information 904. These source identifiers aretelephone numbers associated to a single subscriber to the call featureand so are grouped together in the data entry 902 ₃. The data entry 902₃ further contains a link to an Economist magazine blog, a link to a CBCRadio 3 real-time broadcast and a Jazz compilation as indications ofaudio elements 906. These indications provide audio elements (possiblyfor the blog or the Jazz compilation) or location information forlocating the audio elements on an audio element storage entity and/orthe Internet. In the case of data entry 902 ₃, there are conditionswithin the condition information 908 that apply for each of theindications of audio elements 906. In this case, the Economist magazineblog is to be conveyed if an outgoing call occurs in the morning, theCBC Radio 3 broadcast is to be conveyed if an outgoing call occurs inthe afternoon and the Jazz compilation is to be conveyed if an outgoingcall occurs in the evening.

Data entry 902 ₄ within the database 204 of FIG. 9 contains a sourceidentifier 24.114.111 as source information 904. This source identifieris an IP address associated to a subscriber to the call feature. Thedata entry 902 ₄ further contains a memo to Fred (an individualassociated with a particular destination identifier) and a birthdayreminder element as indications of audio elements 906. The memo to Fredaudio element may be a prerecorded memo containing information relatedto an individual named Fred. The birthday reminder audio element may bean indication to look-up scheduling information and determine if anindividual associated with the destination identifier for an outgoingcall has a birthday event within a short period of time. In the case ofdata entry 902 ₄, there are conditions within the condition information908 that apply for each of the indications of audio elements 906. Inthis case, the memo to Fred is to be conveyed if the outgoing call isdirected to a destination identifier associated with an individual namedFred. The birthday reminder element is to be conveyed if it is detectedthat an individual associated with the destination identifier of theoutgoing call has a birthday within 2 days of the outgoing call.

Finally, data entry 902 _(N) contains a source identifier6139992345@bell.ca as source information 904. This source identifier isa SIP URI associated to a subscriber to the call feature. The data entry902 _(N) further contains a link to a weather network as an indicationof an audio element 906. This indication provides weather informationwhich can be converted from text to speech to generate an audio elementor may be conveyed to the source device in text form via a display onthe source device. In the case of data entry 902 _(N), the conditionwithin the condition information 908 for the audio element is to provideweather information related to the destination identifier's location asmay be dictated by a telephone area code within the destinationidentifier of the outgoing call.

Although depicted for particular data entries within the database 204 ofFIG. 9, it should be understood that the data entries 902 ₁, 902 ₂, 902₃, 902 ₄ . . . 902 _(N) depicted are only example implementations. Othersubscribers may select alternative audio elements and apply a variety ofdifferent conditions for conveyance of the audio elements.

In some embodiments of the present invention, as described above, othermedia elements could be conveyed to the source device along with orinstead of an audio element. In these cases, the other media elementsmay be stored within the data entries 902 ₁, 902 ₂, 902 ₃, 902 ₄ . . .902 _(N) along with or instead of the indications of audio elements 906.In some examples, the other media elements are stored with conveyanceinformation, the conveyance information indicating an appropriate meansfor conveying the media element to the user of the source device.

Further, although not depicted in FIG. 9, condition information 908 fora particular data entry may comprise a minimum time for the audioelement to be conveyed as described in detail above with reference toFIG. 7.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are simplified network block diagrams which illustratethe process of conveying an audio element (step 706 within FIG. 7) to asource device for two example scenarios using the call processing system108. In the scenario of FIG. 10A, the audio element is an audio filestored within a content database, the content database being local tothe call processing system 108 or alternatively being a networkcomponent within the IP network 130 or another data network coupled tothe IP network 130. In the scenario of FIG. 10B, the audio element is anaudio stream transmitted by an audio stream source, which may becontrolled by the same or a different entity from the operator of thecall processing system 108.

In both scenarios, a source device 1000 is coupled to the IP network 130that comprises the call processing system 108. In operation, the sourcedevice 1000 transmits a call request message 1002 to the call processingsystem 108. The call request message 1002 may be transmitted to the callprocessing system 108 similar to previously described with reference toFIG. 3 in the case that the source device 1000 is a POTS-enabled devicethat utilizes SS7 signaling. The call request message 1002 may betransmitted as a SIP invite as described with reference to FIG. 8 in thecase that the source device 1000 is a VoIP-enabled device that utilizesSIP. Upon reception of the call request message 1002, the callprocessing system 108 may establish a media connection 1004 with thesource device 1000 similar to step 702 of FIG. 7 and perform a look-upto determine an audio element to convey to the source device asdescribed for step 704 of FIG. 7.

As shown in FIG. 10A, a content database 1010 is further coupled to callprocessing system 108 within the IP network 130, the content database1010 comprising a plurality of audio files that may include, but are notlimited to, songs, jingles, elevator music, motivational statements,marketing messages, advertisements, service announcements and voicememos. In the example scenario of FIG. 10A, the audio element to beconveyed to the source device 1000 is one or more audio file(s) storedwithin the content database 1010. The audio file(s) may have beenselected by or provided by a subscriber associated with the sourcedevice 1000 during a prior provisioning stage or may be selected by orprovided by another entity such as the service provider that operatesthe call processing system 108 or a third party entity (ex. advertiser,government, etc.) enabled by the service provider or the subscriber. Inthe case of the subscriber selecting one or more audio file(s) during aprior provisioning stage, in some implementations, the subscriber mayselect the audio file(s) via a web-based interface with the callprocessing system 108 or with the content database 1010 or throughanother communication interface (ex. web application, telephone,application on a telephone, etc.) with the service provider thatoperates the call processing system 108 or another entity enabled by theservice provider. In this case, the call processing system 108 oranother entity enabled by the service provider may offer a plurality ofpotential audio files to the subscriber and subsequently receiveselection information from the subscriber, the selection informationcomprising an indication of at least one of the plurality of audiofiles. In an alternative implementation, the service provider thatoperates the call processing system 108 may determine subscriberselected audio file(s) by accessing web-based and/or device based audiofile(s) and/or playlist(s) previously selected by the subscriber forother purposes (ex. playlists within iTunes on a computer/telephone or aweb-based music website), presuming that the service provider has beengiven proper permission to access such information.

In the example scenario of FIG. 10A, upon looking up the audio elementto be conveyed to the source device, the call processing system 108transmits an audio file request 1006 to the content database 1010. Insome implementations, the content database 1010 is incorporated withinthe call processing system 108 and therefore the audio file request 1006would be transmitted between the processing entity 202 of the callprocessing system 108 and the content database 1010. In otherimplementations, the content database 1010 is an external componentwithin the IP network 130 or another data network coupled to the IPnetwork 130 and the audio file request 1006 is transmitted via IPpackets to the content database 1010. In some cases, the contentdatabase 1010 may be incorporated within the database 204, the combineddatabase being either implemented within the call processing system 108or external within the IP network 130. Upon receiving the audio filerequest 1006, the content database 1010 accesses the requested audiofile(s), establishes a media connection 1008 with the call processingsystem 108 and plays the audio file(s) over the media connection 1008,the call processing system 108 bridging the media connection 1008 withthe media connection 1004 established with the source device 1000 inorder to convey the audio file(s) to the source device 1000. In analternative implementation, the content database 1010 may establish adirect media connection 1012 (shown with a dashed line in FIG. 10A) withthe source device 1000 if the call processing system 108 provides anidentifier of the source device 1000 within the audio file request 1006.In this implementation, the content database 1010 can convey the audiofiles(s) to the source device 1000 via the media connection 1012 withoutthe call processing system 108 bridging the media connections. In thiscase, the call processing system 108 may send a termination command tothe content database 1010 or to the source device 1000 to terminate themedia connection 1012 on which the audio file(s) are being conveyedduring step 716 of the process of FIG. 7. In yet another alternativeimplementation, rather than play the audio file(s), the content database1010 may transfer the audio file(s) to the call processing system 108 orthe source device 1000 and the actual playing of the audio file(s) maybe performed by the call processing system 108 or the source device1000. In these cases, a sufficiently high bandwidth connection isrequired to transfer the audio file(s) such that the file transfer doesnot noticeably delay the playing of the audio file(s) to a user of thesource device 1000.

FIG. 10B depicts a simplified logical network block diagram similar tothat shown in FIG. 10A and like components have been identified with thesame reference numbers. Within FIG. 10B, the content database 1010 hasbeen removed and instead an audio stream source 1020 is included. Theaudio stream source 1020 is depicted in FIG. 10B within the IP network130, though the audio stream source 1020 may be within a different datanetwork coupled to the IP network 130. The audio stream source 1020 maycomprise a server or other network component (ex. networked computer,etc.) that is operable to transmit streaming audio content to networkcomponents within the IP network 130 or other connected networks. Thenetwork components receiving the streamed audio content may include thecall processing system 108 and/or the source device 1000 if the sourcedevice 1000 is enabled to receive data over the IP network 130 oranother data network coupled to the IP network 130. In some particularimplementations, the audio stream source 1020 comprises a web serverthat is operable to continuously stream a radio broadcast, an audioportion of a television broadcast, a playlist of songs, a serviceannouncement broadcast, a set of one or more advertisement messages, areading of information (ex. news, weather, sport scores, stock quotes, amagazine, a newspaper, a podcast, a social media update (ex. Facebook,Twitter), etc.) or other audio content as one may desire to stream on adata network. In the example scenario of FIG. 10B, the audio element tobe conveyed to the source device 1000 is an audio stream that istransmitted by the audio stream source 1020. The audio stream to beconveyed to the source device 1000 may have been selected by asubscriber associated with the source device 1000 during a priorprovisioning stage or may be selected by another entity such as theservice provider that operates the call processing system 108 or a thirdparty entity (ex. advertiser, government, etc.) enabled by the serviceprovider or the subscriber. Similar to that described above for thescenario of FIG. 10A, in the case of the subscriber selecting an audiostream during a prior provisioning stage, in some implementations, thesubscriber may select the audio stream via a web-based interface withthe call processing system 108 or with the audio stream source 1020 orthrough another communication interface (ex. web application, telephone,application on a telephone, etc.) with the service provider thatoperates the call processing system 108 or another entity enabled by theservice provider. In this case, the call processing system 108 oranother entity enabled by the service provider may offer a plurality ofpotential audio streams to the subscriber and subsequently receiveselection information from the subscriber, the selection informationcomprising an indication of at least one of the plurality of audiostreams.

In the example scenario of FIG. 10B, upon looking up the audio elementto be conveyed to the source device, the call processing system 108transmits an audio stream request 1022 to the audio stream source 1020.The audio stream request 1022 may comprise IP packets that request amedia connection 1024 to be established between the audio stream source1020 and the call processing system 108. In some cases, the audio streamrequest 1022 may comprise a URL of a particular audio stream or anotheridentifier that is associated with a particular audio stream. Forexample, the audio stream request 1022 may comprise a URL associatedwith an online radio broadcast of “CBC Radio 3”. Upon receiving theaudio stream request 1022, the audio stream source 1020 establishes amedia connection 1024 with the call processing system 108 and initiatestransmitting of the selected audio stream over the media connection1024, the call processing system 108 bridging the media connection 1024with the media connection 1004 established with the source device 1000in order to convey the audio stream to the source device 1000. In analternative implementation, the audio stream source 1020 may establish adirect media connection 1026 (shown as a dashed line in FIG. 10B) withthe source device 1000 if the call processing system 108 provides anidentifier of the source device 1000 within the audio stream request1022. In this implementation, the audio stream source 1020 can conveythe audio stream to the source device 1000 via the media connection 1026without the call processing system 108 bridging the media connections.In this case, the call processing system 108 may send a terminationcommand to the audio stream source 1020 or to the source device 1000 toterminate the media connection 1026 on which the audio stream is beingconveyed during step 716 of the process of FIG. 7.

As described previously, in some embodiments of the present invention,other media elements could be conveyed to the source device along withor instead of an audio element. In FIG. 10A, other elements could bestored within the content database 1010 and these additional mediaelements such as video, images and/or text could be conveyed to thesource device 1000 along with, or instead of, the audio file(s).Further, in FIG. 10B, the audio stream source 1020 could be a mediastream source that is operable to transmit other media elements such asvideo, images and/or text along with, or instead of, the audio stream tothe source device 1000. In both of these cases, the source device 1000would require a data connection capable of receiving the media elementsand a screen capable of displaying visual data.

Within the above description, the call processing system 108 has beendescribed as a single system that performs signaling functionality andperforms functionality after a media connection is established betweenit and the source device. In alternative embodiments, the system thatperforms the signaling functionality as described herein may be distinctto the system that performs the functionality described herein after themedia connection is established with the source device. In thisembodiment, the two systems may communicate with each other or may not.Further, the two systems may be operated by two distinct corporateentities in some embodiments.

The embodiments of the present invention described above are directed toimplementations in which the call processing system 108 conveys an audioelement prior to the call being established with the destination deviceto replace the traditional ring tone that a user of the source devicewould normally hear. In alternative embodiments of the present inventionas will be described with reference to FIGS. 11, 12 and 13, the sourcedevice used to initiate the call may also be used to look-up and conveythe audio element to a user prior to the call being established with thedestination device. In this alternative, the source device either maynot receive a traditional ring tone from a network element such as theSSP 102 or the call processing system 108 or may ignore the traditionalring tone that it receives and replace it with an alternative audioelement.

FIG. 11 is a logical block diagram of a communication device 1100according to an example implementation of the present invention that maybe used as a source device during an outgoing call that conveys an audioelement to a user as a replacement to the traditional ring tone. In thisimplementation, the communication device 1100 comprises a processingentity 1102 coupled to a database 1104, a speaker 1110 and a handset1112. In some embodiments, the communication device 1100 may compriseonly one of the speaker 1110 and the handset 1112. Further, thecommunication device 1100 of FIG. 11 comprises first and second networkinterfaces 1106, 1108 coupled to the processing entity 1102, though invarious embodiments of the present invention, the communication device1100 may comprise only the first network interface 1106, only the secondnetwork interface 1108 or both of the network interfaces 1106,1108. Thefirst network interface 1106 is operable to be coupled to the PSTN 120or another network that enables POTS telephone to make/receive telephonecalls. The second network interface 1108 is operable to be coupled to adata network such as the IP network 130 and enables the processingentity 1102 to make/receive VoIP telephone calls and communicate withnetwork components within a data network such as the IP network 130.

The processing entity 1102, in various implementations in which thecommunication device 1100 includes the first network interface 1106, isoperable to initiate an outgoing call over the PSTN 120, conductlook-ups within the database 1104 to locate an audio element and conveythe located audio element to a user of the communication device 1100prior to the outgoing call being established as a replacement to thetraditional ring tone that may be received at the communication device1100 from the PSTN 120. The processing entity 1102, in variousimplementations in which the communication device 1100 includes thesecond network interface 1108, is operable to initiate an outgoing callover the IP network 130, conduct look-ups within the database 1104 tolocate an audio element and convey the located audio element to a userof the communication device 1100 prior to the outgoing call beingestablished as a replacement to the traditional ring tone that may benormally conveyed to a user of the communication device 1100. Theprocessing entity 1102, in the case that the communication device 1100comprises the second network interface 1108, may further be operable toreceive/transmit SIP messages and media packets from/to various entitieswithin the IP network 130 via the second network interface 1108 and maybe operable to perform numerous media packet processing tasks includingbut not limited to receiving, analyzing, generating, transmitting androuting media packets. It should be understood that, although depictedas a single element, the processing entity 1102 may comprise a pluralityof elements that together operate to provide the functionality asdescribed herein below.

The database 1104 of FIG. 11 may be similar to the database 204described with reference to FIG. 2. In particular, in specificimplementations, the database 1104 may comprise information concerningaudio elements that are to be conveyed to a user of the communicationdevice 1100 and any conditions that might apply to conveyance of suchaudio elements. In essence, in some implementations, the database 1104may comprise entries similar to that described with reference to FIG. 9but with no need to include a column for the source identifier. In someimplementations as will be described, the database 1104 may furthercomprise audio file(s) that are to be conveyed to a user of thecommunication device 1100. In other implementations, only a locationidentifier for the audio element to be conveyed is stored within thedatabase 1104. It should be understood that, although depicted as asingle element within the communication device 1100, the database 1104could comprise a plurality of storage elements and, in the case that thecommunication device 1100 comprises the second network interface 1108,the database 1104 may comprise one or more remote storage elementscoupled to the processing entity 1102 via the second network interface1108 or a combination of remote and local storage elements.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart depicting steps performed by the processingentity 1102 within the communication device 1100 of FIG. 11 according toan embodiment of the present invention upon the initiation of anoutgoing call from the communication device 1100. The flow chart of FIG.12 is similar to that previously described with reference to FIG. 7 butthe steps are performed by the processing entity 1102 within thecommunication device 1100 rather than the processing entity 202 withinthe call processing system 108. In the example implementation of FIG.12, the outgoing call may be initiated through the PSTN 120 using SS7signaling if the communication device 1100 comprises the first networkinterface 1106 or may be initiated through the IP network 130 using SIPif the communication device 1100 comprises the second network interface1108. In some embodiments in which the communication device 1100comprises both the first and second network interfaces 1106, 1108, theoutgoing call may be initiated in either manner as selected by theprocessing entity 1102.

Upon the initiation of the outgoing call, as depicted in FIG. 12, theprocessing entity 1102 conducts a look-up at step 1202 to determine anaudio element to be conveyed to the user of the communication device1100 prior to the establishment of the call. The processing entity 1102can perform the look-up on the database 1104 and/or another storageentity external to the communication device 1100 if the communicationdevice comprises the second network interface 1108. In some embodiments,the destination identifier associated with the outgoing call may be usedas a reference to locate a particular audio element and/or a randomalgorithm, a predetermined order in a list or temporal information (ex.time of day, week, year, etc.) may be used to select a particular audioelement.

In some example implementations, during a provisioning stage, a user ofthe communication device 1100 may select an audio element from a set ofpotential audio elements offered by the processing entity 1102 or by aservice provider that can control the processing entity 1102. In thiscase, the processing entity 1102, an entity enabled by the processingentity 1102 or an entity that controls the processing entity 1102 mayoffer a plurality of potential audio elements to the user of thecommunication device and subsequently receive selection information fromthe user, the selection information comprising an indication of at leastone of the plurality of audio elements. The selection information maycomprise an indication of at least one audio file and/or may comprise anindication of at least one audio stream broadcast on the IP network 130.In other embodiments, the user of the communication device may providethe processing entity 1102, an entity enabled by the processing entity1102 or an entity that controls the processing entity 1102 with one ormore audio elements that he/she would like to hear while waiting for thedestination to accept an outgoing call. The audio element provided bythe user of the communication device may be one or more audio files or aplaylist of audio files. For instance, the subscriber may select/providea particular song (ex “Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin or “Dead Puppies Are SoNot Cool” by Samantha and the Cramps), a jingle (ex. seasonal melodies),elevator music, a motivational statement, a voice memo generated by thesubscriber or another audio element as desired by the user. In someimplementations, the user may select and/or provide a plurality of audioelements and the processing entity 1102 may select one of these audioelements based on a random algorithm, a predetermined order within alist or another condition such as temporal information (time of day,week, year, etc.).

In further implementations, an application such as iTunes may reside onthe communication device 1100 in which a user has selected one or moreaudio files and/or generated one or more playlists of audio files. Inthis case, the processing entity 1102 may access the application toselect an audio element to convey to the user of the communicationdevice. In one implementation, the user of the communication devicecould generate a playlist of audio files specifically for the processingentity 1102 to use to convey to the user of the communication device1100 during the establishment of an outgoing call. In otherimplementations, the processing entity 1102 may select one of theplaylists or a plurality of audio files (ex. most played audio files,highest rated audio files) to convey to the user of the communicationdevice 1100 during the establishment of an outgoing call.

As described previously, the audio element may take many different formsin various implementations including: one or more audio file(s) (ex. asong, a jingle, elevator music, a motivation statement, a voice memogenerated by a user of the communication device, etc.) and an audiostream being transmitted from an audio stream component within the IPnetwork 130 (ex. a radio broadcast, an audio portion of a televisionbroadcast, a playlist of songs, a service announcement broadcast, a setof one or more advertisement messages and a reading of information (ex.news, weather, sport scores, stock quotes, a magazine, a newspaper, apodcast, a social media update (ex. Facebook, Twitter), etc.) or anotheraudio stream that can be broadcast by an audio stream source andconveyed to a user of the communication device). In someimplementations, the audio element(s) may be stored within the database1104. In other implementations, if the communication device 1100comprises the second network interface 1108, a location identifier maybe stored within the database 1104 or another storage entity external tothe call communication device 1100. The location identifier can be usedto extract the audio element(s) by the processing entity 1102 from anetwork component within the IP network 130. For example, a locationidentifier could comprise a URL, a lookup reference within an audioelement database or another identifier that allows the processing entity1102 to locate the audio element(s) within or outside of the IP network130.

Further, as previously described, the processing entity 1102 or anotherprocessing entity in communication with the processing entity 1102 couldgenerate an audio element that is an audio representation of schedulinginformation associated with a user of the communication device 1100after accessing the scheduling information from a source of schedulinginformation. The source of scheduling information may be an applicationin which the user has stored scheduling information. The schedulinginformation could be stored within the database 1104 or, if thecommunication device comprises the second network interface 1108, thescheduling information could be stored within another storage entityexternal to the communication device 1100. In one example, thescheduling information could be associated with an application that runslocally on the communication device 1100. In this case, the processingentity 1102 may access the application to receive the schedulinginformation associated with the user of the communication device. Inanother example, the scheduling information could be stored in a networkcomponent (not shown) within the IP network 130 or a data networkcoupled to the IP network 130. In this case, the network component mayrun a scheduling program, such as Outlook™ produced by MicrosoftCorporation of Redmond, Wash. or Google Calendar produced by Google Inc.of Mountain View, Calif. The processing entity 1102 may access thelocation and login credential information of the scheduling informationwithin the database 1104 or, if the communication device comprises thesecond network interface 1108, the processing entity 1102 may access thelocation and login credential information of the scheduling informationfrom another storage entity external to the communication device 1100using an identifier for the communication device 1100 or the user of thecommunication device 1100. The processing entity 1102 may then accessthe scheduling information from the network component storing thescheduling information through the IP network 130. The schedulinginformation, once accessed, can be used by the processing entity 1102 togenerate an audio element. In a particular example, the processingentity 1102 could enable a text to voice function in order to create anaudio representation of one or more events within the schedulinginformation. The processing entity 1102 may use the event(s) that willoccur next to create the audio element. In alternative embodiments, aseparate processing entity within the IP network 130 could be used togenerate the audio element from the scheduling information.

Similarly to previously described, in some implementations, a user ofthe communication device 1100 may enable customized audio elements forparticular destination identifiers. In this case, the processing entity1102 may utilize the destination identifier to locate one or moreparticular audio element(s) to be conveyed. For example, a user mayset-up one or more memo messages related to a particular individualassociated with a destination identifier; link a particular destinationidentifier to reminder information; link a particular audio file to aparticular destination identifier; or otherwise associate a particularaudio element to a destination identifier. In one example, a subscribermay record a voice memo for a particular destination identifier toremind them of fact(s) concerning an individual associated with thedestination identifier. As described above, the audio element(s) orlocation information associated with the audio element(s) may be storedwithin the database 1104 or, if the communication device 1100 comprisesthe second network interface 1108, the audio element(s) may be storedwithin another storage entity external to the communication device 1100.

Further, as previously described, in other embodiments, the serviceprovider or another third party may select audio elements that are to beconveyed to a user of the communication device 1100. In these cases,audio elements may be provided directly by the service provider oranother third party to the communication device 1100. In this case, theaudio element may be linked to a user of the communication device 1100or may be a general audio element. In some examples, the audio elementsin this case may comprise general information from the service provider(ex. service interruption information, billing information, marketinginformation, seasonal greeting information, public service information,etc.) or advertising information from third parties as selected by theservice provider or by a third party. The advertisements, in someimplementations, may be linked to information known by the serviceprovider concerning the subscriber and/or an entity associated with thedestination identifier. As described above, the audio element(s) orlocation information associated with the audio element(s) may be storedwithin the database 1104 or, if the communication device 1100 comprisesthe second network interface 1108, the audio element(s) may be storedwithin another storage entity external to the communication device 1100.

As shown in FIG. 12, once the processing entity 1102 has looked up theaudio element to be conveyed at step 1102, the processing entity 1102initiates the conveyance of the audio element to the user of thecommunication device 1100 at step 1204. The conveyance of the audioelement may comprise playing the audio element over the speaker 1110,playing the audio element within the handset 1112 and/or playing theaudio element over another component that can transmit audio waves tothe user of the communication device 1100. In other implementations inwhich the communication device 1100 comprises the second networkinterface 1108, the conveyance of the audio element may compriseestablishing a media connection between the communication device 1100and a network component within the IP network 130 or another datanetwork coupled to the IP network 130 that may stream the audio elementto the communication device 1100. In this case, the processing entity1102 initiates the establishment of the media connection and forwardsthe streamed audio element to the speaker 1110 and/or the handset 1112.It should be understood that the means for conveyance of the audioelement to the user of the communication device 1100 may be determinedat least partially upon the audio element that is to be conveyed. Theconveyance of an audio element to a user of the communication device fortwo example scenarios will be described with reference to FIG. 13.

In some embodiments of the present invention, other media elements couldbe conveyed to user of the communication device 1100 along with orinstead of an audio element. For example, if the communication device1100 can support a display (not shown) capable of projecting visual datasuch as video, images and/or text (ex. multimodal phones, smart phones,computer screen associated with the source device etc.), the processingentity 1102 could look-up other media elements such as video, images ortext information and convey these other media elements on the display(not shown) of the communication device 1100. In this case, a user ofthe communication device 1100 may be able to view video, images and/ortext information on the display (not shown) prior to (and possiblyduring) the call being established with the destination device. Similarto the various embodiments described, the other media elements couldinclude information selected by a user of the communication device 1100,information related to an entity associated with the destinationidentifier (ex. memos related to the entity, images/videos of theentity, etc.), information selected by a service provider or third party(ex. alert, advertisement, account information, etc.) or other data thatcan be visually displayed on a display at the communication device 1100.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the processing entity 1102determines whether an audio element being conveyed has a minimumconveyance time that is required at step 1206. A minimum time may berequired or desired for the conveying of an audio element if particularinformation is required or desired to be conveyed to the user of thesource device prior to the outgoing call being established with thedestination device. This may be the case for audio elements such asvoice memos, reminders, or other audio elements that convey information.If a minimum time is required at step 1206, the processing entity 1102will wait the required minimum time at step 1208 before connecting thecall. The processing entity 1202 may be provided with minimum timeinformation along with the audio element or may receive an indicationthat signifies that the full audio element needs to be played. It shouldbe understood that in some embodiments, no minimum time requirement isneeded and steps 1206 and 1208 are not implemented by the processingentity 1102.

If the minimum time is not required at step 1206 or if the minimum timehas expired at step 1208, the processing entity 1102 causes theinitiation of a call to the destination device using the destinationidentifier at step 1210. In some embodiments, the initiation of a callto the destination device occurs only after the minimum time has expiredat step 710 though, in other embodiments, no such delay may occur. Theinitiation of the call can be performed in many manners and will dependupon the network that the destination device is connected to and theprotocols the network utilizes.

After causing initiation of the call to the destination device at step1210, the processing entity waits for the destination device to answerthe call at step 1212. During this waiting period, when a traditional“ring tone” audio would normally be provided to the user of thecommunication device 1100, the processing entity 1102, according toembodiments of the present invention, continues to convey the audioelement(s) to the user of the communication device 1100. If the audioelement ends during this waiting period, the processing entity 1102 mayeither convey the audio element an additional time, convey another audioelement (ex. another song, ring tone) or stop conveying audio to theuser of the communication device 1100.

Once the destination device answers the call, the processing entity1102, as depicted in step 1214, proceeds to terminate the conveying ofthe audio element and cause a media connection to be established betweenthe communication device 1100 and the desired destination device. Theterminating conveying of the audio element may be prior to orsubstantially simultaneous with the establishment of the mediaconnection between the communication device and the destination device.This media connection can be established in a number of manners and maybe controlled by network components such as the SSP 102 or the callprocessing system 108 described previously.

Within some embodiments of the present invention, steps of FIG. 12 areperformed by the processing entity 1102 in response to the processingentity 1102 detecting an initiation of a call to a destination device bythe user of the communication device 1100. The processing entity 1102may detect an initiation of a call by the user of the communicationdevice 1100 in a number of ways. In some implementations, the processingentity 1102 is integral to the user of the communication device 1100initiating a call to the destination device. For example, the processingentity 1102 may provide access to a virtual keypad and/or an addressbook to the user, receive electronic signals to initiate a call to thedestination device, receive DTMF tones from buttons pressed by the user,and/or otherwise receive an intent to call the destination device fromthe user. In some cases, the processing entity 1102 causes establishmentof the media connection between the communication device 1100 and thedestination device by transmitting DTMF tones to a SSP within the PSTN120 or by transmitting a call request message using SIP to a callprocessing system, such as the call processing system 108, via the IPnetwork 130 or another data network. In other embodiments, theprocessing entity 1102 is not directly involved in the establishment ofthe media connection between the communication device 1100 and thedestination device. In this case, the processing entity 1100 may detectthe initiation of a call to the destination device in other manners suchas detecting a ring tone being received from a network component such asan SSP via the PSTN 120 or a call processing system, such as the callprocessing system 108, via the IP network 130. In embodiments of thepresent invention, whether the processing entity 1102 is involved inestablishment of the media connection between the communication device1100 and the destination device or not, if a traditional ring tone isreceived at the communication device 1100 from a network component dueto the initiation of the outgoing call to the destination device, theprocessing entity 1102 replaces the traditional conveyance of the ringtone to the user of the communication device 1100 with the conveyance ofthe audio element.

FIG. 13 is a simplified network block diagram illustrating two examplescenarios for conveying an audio element (step 1204 within FIG. 12) to auser using the communication device of FIG. 11. In a first scenario, theaudio element is an audio file stored within a content database 1310,the content database 1310 being a network component within the IPnetwork 130 or another data network coupled to the IP network 130. In asecond scenario, the audio element is an audio stream transmitted by anaudio stream source 1320, which may be controlled by the same or adifferent entity from a service provider that operates the network onwhich the communication device 1100 makes/receives telephone calls.

As shown in FIG. 13 for these particular scenarios, the communicationdevice 1100 is coupled to the IP network 130 and both the contentdatabase 1310 and the audio stream source 1320 are within the IP network130, though one or both of the content database 1310 and the audiostream source 1320 could be within a different data network coupled tothe IP network 130. In operation within both scenarios, after a call isinitiated at the communication device 1100, as described previously withreference to FIG. 12, the processing entity 1102 within thecommunication device 1100 determines an audio element to convey to auser of the communication device 1100 prior to the call beingestablished.

The content database 1310 comprises a plurality of audio files that mayinclude, but are not limited to, songs, jingles, elevator music,motivational statements, marketing messages, advertisements, serviceannouncements and voice memos. In the first scenario of FIG. 13, theaudio element to be conveyed to the user of the communication device1100 is one or more audio file(s) stored within the content database1310. The audio file(s) may have been selected by the user of thecommunication device 1100 during a prior provisioning stage or may beselected by another entity such as the service provider that enables thecommunication device 1100 to make/receive calls or a third party entity(ex. advertiser, government, etc.) enabled by the service provider orthe user of the communication device 1100. In the case of the userselecting one or more audio file(s) during a prior provisioning stage,in some implementations, the user may select the audio file(s) via anapplication on the communication device 1100 controlled by theprocessing entity 1102 or via a web-based interface with the contentdatabase 1310 or through another communication interface (ex. webapplication, telephone, application on a telephone, etc.) with an entitythat operates the content database 1310 or another entity enabled by theservice provider. In some example implementations, during a provisioningstage, a user of the communication device 1100 may select an audioelement from a set of potential audio elements offered by the processingentity 1102 or by a service provider that can control the processingentity 1102. In this case, the processing entity 1102, an entity enabledby the processing entity 1102 or an entity that controls the processingentity 1102 may offer a plurality of potential audio elements to theuser of the communication device 1100 and subsequently receive selectioninformation from the user, the selection information comprising anindication of at least one of the plurality of audio elements. Theselection information may comprise an indication of at least one audiofile and/or may comprise an indication of at least one audio streambroadcast on the IP network 130. In other embodiments, the user of thecommunication device may provide the processing entity 1102, an entityenabled by the processing entity 1102 or an entity that controls theprocessing entity 1102 with one or more audio elements that he/she wouldlike to hear while waiting for the destination to accept an outgoingcall. The audio element provided by the user of the communication devicemay be one or more audio files or a playlist of audio files. In analternative implementation, the processing entity 1102 may determineuser selected audio file(s) by accessing audio file(s) and/orplaylist(s) previously selected by the user for other purposes (ex.playlists within iTunes on the communication device or on an externalcomputer or a web-based music website), presuming that the processingentity 1102 has been given proper permission to access such information.

In the first scenario of FIG. 13, upon looking up the audio element tobe conveyed to the user of the communication device 1100, the processingentity 1102 transmits an audio file request 1302 to the content database1310 via the IP network 130. Upon receiving the audio file request 1302,the content database 1310 accesses the requested audio file(s),establishes a media connection 1304 with the communication device 1100and plays the audio file(s) over the media connection 1304, theprocessing entity 1102 forwarding the streamed audio file(s) to thespeaker 1110 and/or the handset 1112 in order to convey the audiofile(s) to the user of the communication device 1100. In anotheralternative implementation, rather than play the audio file(s), thecontent database 1310 may transfer the audio file(s) to thecommunication device 1100 and the actual playing of the audio file(s)may be performed by the processing entity 1102. In these cases, asufficiently high bandwidth connection is required to transfer the audiofile(s) such that the file transfer does not noticeably delay theplaying of the audio file(s) to a user of the communication device 1100.

The audio stream source 1320 may comprise a server or other networkcomponent (ex. networked computer, etc.) that is operable to transmitstreamed audio content to network components within the IP network 130or other connected networks. The network components receiving thestreamed audio content may include the communication device 1100. Insome particular implementations, the audio stream source 1320 comprisesa web server that is operable to continuously stream an online radiobroadcast, an audio portion of a television broadcast, a playlist ofsongs, a service announcement broadcast, a set of one or moreadvertisement messages, a reading of information (ex. news, weather,sport scores, stock quotes, a magazine, a newspaper, a podcast, a socialmedia update (ex. Facebook, Twitter), etc.) or other audio content asone may desire to stream on a data network. In the second scenario ofFIG. 13, the audio element to be conveyed to the user of thecommunication device 1100 is an audio stream that is transmitted by theaudio stream source 1320. The audio stream to be conveyed to the user ofthe communication device 1100 may have been selected by the user duringa prior provisioning stage or may be selected by another entity such asa service provider that enables the communication device 1100 tomake/receive calls or a third party entity (ex. advertiser, government,etc.) enabled by the service provider or the user of the communicationdevice 1100. Similar to that described above for the first scenario ofFIG. 13, in the case of the user of the communication device 1100selecting an audio stream during a prior provisioning stage, in someimplementations, the user may select the audio stream via an applicationon the communication device 1100 controlled by the processing entity1102 or via a web-based interface with the audio stream source 1320 orthrough another communication interface (ex. web application, telephone,application on a telephone, etc.) with an entity that operates the audiostream source 1320 or another entity enabled by the service provider. Insome example implementations, during a provisioning stage, a user of thecommunication device 1100 may select an audio stream from a set ofpotential audio streams offered by the processing entity 1102 or by aservice provider that can control the processing entity 1102. In thiscase, the processing entity 1102, an entity enabled by the processingentity 1102 or an entity that controls the processing entity 1102 mayoffer a plurality of potential audio streams to the user of thecommunication device 1100 and subsequently receive selection informationfrom the user, the selection information comprising an indication of atleast one of the plurality of audio streams.

In the second scenario of FIG. 13, upon looking up the audio element tobe conveyed to the user of the communication device 1100, the processingentity 1102 transmits an audio stream request 1322 to the audio streamsource 1320. The audio stream request 1322 may comprise IP packets thatrequest a media connection 1324 to be established between the audiostream source 1320 and the communication device 1100. In some cases, theaudio stream request 1322 may comprise a URL of a particular audiostream or another identifier that is associated with a particular audiostream. Upon receiving the audio stream request 1322, the audio streamsource 1320 establishes a media connection 1324 with the communicationdevice 1100 and initiates transmitting of the selected audio stream overthe media connection 1324, the processing entity 1102 forwarding theaudio stream to the speaker 1110 and/or the handset 1112 in order toconvey the audio stream to the user of the communication device 1100.

As described previously, in some embodiments of the present invention,other media elements could be conveyed to the communication device 1100along with or instead of an audio element. In FIG. 13, other elementscould be stored within the content database 1310 and these additionalmedia elements such as video, images and/or text could be conveyed tothe communication device 1100 along with, or instead of, the audiofile(s). Further, the audio stream source 1320 could be a media streamsource that is operable to transmit other media elements such as video,images and/or text along with, or instead of, the audio stream to thecommunication device 1100. In both of these cases, the communicationdevice 1100 would require a display (not shown) capable of displayingvisual data.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, in some embodiments,certain functionality of a given element described herein (e.g., theprocessing entity 202) may be implemented as pre-programmed hardware orfirmware components (e.g., application specific integrated circuits(ASICs), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories(EEPROMs), etc.) or other related components. In other embodiments, agiven element described herein (e.g., the processing entity 202) maycomprise a processor having access to a memory which stores programinstructions for operation of the processor to implement functionalityof that given element. The program instructions may be stored on a datastorage medium that is fixed, tangible, and readable directly by thegiven element. The data storage medium may store data optically (e.g.,an optical disk such as a CD-ROM or a DVD), magnetically (e.g., a harddisk drive, a removable diskette), electrically (e.g., semiconductormemory, floating-gate transistor memory, etc.), or in various otherways. Alternatively, the program instructions may be stored remotely buttransmittable to the given element via a modem or other interface deviceconnected to a network over a transmission medium. The transmissionmedium may be either a tangible medium (e.g., optical or analogcommunications lines) or a medium implemented using wireless techniques(e.g., microwave, infrared or other wireless transmission schemes).

Although various embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed and illustrated, it will be apparent to those skilled in theart that numerous modifications and variations can be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, which is defined in theappended claims.

1. A method implemented by a call processing system for controlling anoutgoing call initiated by a source device to a destination device, themethod comprising: receiving a call request message from the sourcedevice, the call request message comprising identifiers of the sourceand destination devices for the outgoing call; determining an audioelement from a plurality of audio elements to convey to the sourcedevice; initiating conveyance of the audio element to the source devicein response to receiving the call request message from the sourcedevice; causing establishment of a media connection between the sourceand destination devices; and terminating conveyance of the audio elementto the source device prior to or substantially simultaneous with theestablishment of the media connection between the source and destinationdevices.
 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the determining anaudio element from a plurality of audio elements comprises receiving aselection of an audio element from a user associated with the sourcedevice prior to the outgoing call.
 3. A method according to claim 2,wherein the receiving a selection of an audio element from a userassociated with the source device comprises offering a plurality ofpotential audio elements to the user associated with the source deviceand receiving selection information from the user associated with thesource device, the selection information comprising an indication of atleast one of the plurality of potential audio elements.
 4. A methodaccording to claim 2, wherein the receiving a selection of an audioelement from a user associated with the source device comprisesreceiving an indication of at least one audio file.
 5. A methodaccording to claim 2, wherein the receiving a selection of an audioelement from a user associated with the source device comprisesreceiving an indication of at least one audio stream broadcast on a datanetwork.
 6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the determining anaudio element from a plurality of audio elements is based at leastpartially upon the identifier of the source device.
 7. A methodaccording to claim 6, wherein the determining an audio element from aplurality of audio elements comprises determining an indication of anaudio file to convey to the source device.
 8. A method according toclaim 7, wherein the indication of an audio file comprises a location ofthe audio file within a database local to the call processing system;and wherein the initiating conveyance of the audio element to the sourcedevice comprises accessing the audio file within the database local tothe call processing system and playing the audio file to the sourcedevice over a media connection between the call processing system andthe source device.
 9. A method according to claim 7, wherein theindication of an audio file comprises a location of the audio filewithin a database remote from the call processing system; and whereinthe initiating conveyance of the audio element to the source devicecomprises transmitting a request to the remote database to play theaudio file over a media connection between the remote database and thesource device.
 10. A method according to claim 6, wherein thedetermining an audio element from a plurality of audio elementscomprises determining an indication of an audio stream broadcast on adata network to convey to the source device.
 11. A method according toclaim 10, wherein the indication of an audio stream comprises a locationon the data network of an audio stream source that broadcasts the audiostream; and wherein the initiating conveyance of the audio element tothe source device comprises transmitting a request to the audio streamsource to transmit the audio stream over a media connection between theaudio stream source and the source device.
 12. A method according toclaim 10, wherein the audio stream comprises at least one of a radiobroadcast, an audio portion of a television broadcast, a playlist ofsongs, a service announcement broadcast, a set of one or moreadvertisement messages and a reading of information.
 13. A methodaccording to claim 6, wherein the determining an audio element from aplurality of audio elements comprises locating scheduling informationassociated with the identifier of the source device within a source ofscheduling information; and wherein the initiating conveyance of theaudio element to the source device comprises transmitting an audiorepresentation of the scheduling information associated with theidentifier of the source device to the source device.
 14. A methodaccording to claim 6, wherein the determining an audio element from aplurality of audio elements is further based at least partially upon theidentifier of the destination device.
 15. A method according to claim14, wherein the determining an audio element from a plurality of audioelements comprises locating a message for a user of the source deviceassociated with a user of the destination device.
 16. A method accordingto claim 15 further comprising receiving the message for the user of thesource device associated with the user of the destination device fromthe user of the source device prior to the outgoing call.
 17. A methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the determining an audio element from aplurality of audio elements to convey to the source device comprisesselecting a subset of the plurality of audio elements based at leastpartially upon the identifier of the source device and selecting anaudio element to convey to the source device from the subset based upona random algorithm.
 18. A method according to claim 1, wherein thedetermining an audio element from a plurality of audio elements toconvey to the source device comprises selecting a subset of theplurality of audio elements based at least partially upon the identifierof the source device and selecting an audio element to convey to thesource device from the subset based upon a predetermined order.
 19. Amethod according to claim 1, wherein the determining an audio elementfrom a plurality of audio elements to convey to the source devicecomprises selecting a subset of the plurality of audio elements based atleast partially upon the identifier of the source device and selectingan audio element to convey to the source device from the subset based atleast partially upon temporal information.
 20. A method according toclaim 1, wherein the receiving a call request message from the sourcedevice comprises receiving a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) messagethat has been converted from a Signaling System 7 (SS7) message by asignaling converter that previously received the SS7 message from aService Switching Point (SSP) associated with the source device.
 21. Amethod according to claim 20, wherein the SS7 message comprises aTransaction Capabilities Application Part (TCAP) message initiated by anOff Hook Delay trigger on the SSP.
 22. A method according to claim 1,wherein the receiving a call request message from the source devicecomprises receiving a SIP message from the source device.
 23. A methodaccording to claim 1 further comprising determining a time period toconvey the audio element; and wherein the terminating conveyance of theaudio element to the source device is in response to the time periodexpiring.
 24. A method according to claim 1, wherein the causingestablishment of a media connection between the source and destinationdevices comprises causing initiation of a media connection with thedestination device, detecting acceptance from the destination device ofthe outgoing call and causing establishment of the media connectionbetween the source and destination devices in response to the acceptancefrom the destination device.
 25. A method according to claim 24, whereinthe terminating conveyance of the audio element to the source device isin response to detecting the acceptance from the destination device ofthe outgoing call.
 26. A method according to claim 24 further comprisingdetermining a minimum time period to convey the audio element; andwherein the causing initiation of a media connection with thedestination device is in response to the minimum time period expiring.27. A method according to claim 26, wherein the terminating conveyanceof the audio element to the source device is in response to detectingthe acceptance from the destination device of the outgoing call.
 28. Amethod according to claim 1 further comprising determining a mediaelement to convey to a display within the source device; and initiatingconveyance of the media element to the display within the source devicein response to receiving the call request message.
 29. A methodaccording to claim 28, wherein the media element comprises at least oneof a video element, an image element and a text element.
 30. A callprocessing system for controlling an outgoing call initiated by a sourcedevice to a destination device, the system comprising: a processingentity operable to receive a call request message from the sourcedevice, the call request message comprising identifiers of the sourceand destination devices for the outgoing call; to determine an audioelement from a plurality of audio elements to convey to the sourcedevice; and to initiate conveyance of the audio element to the sourcedevice in response to receiving the call request message from the sourcedevice; and a network interface operable to cause establishment of amedia connection between the source and destination devices; and whereinthe processing entity is further operable to terminate conveyance of theaudio element to the source device prior to or substantiallysimultaneous with the establishment of the media connection between thesource and destination devices.
 31. A call processing system accordingto claim 30, wherein, to determine an audio element from a plurality ofaudio elements, the processing entity is operable to receive a selectionof an audio element from a user associated with the source device priorto the outgoing call.
 32. A call processing system according to claim31, wherein to receive a selection of an audio element from a userassociated with the source device, the processing entity is operable tooffer a plurality of potential audio elements to the user associatedwith the source device and to receive selection information from theuser associated with the source device, the selection informationcomprising an indication of at least one of the plurality of potentialaudio elements.
 33. A call processing system according to claim 31,wherein, to receive a selection of an audio element from a userassociated with the source device, the processing entity is operable toreceive an indication of at least one audio file.
 34. A call processingsystem according to claim 31, wherein, to receive a selection of anaudio element from a user associated with the source device, theprocessing entity is operable to receive an indication of at least oneaudio stream broadcast on a data network.
 35. A call processing systemaccording to claim 30, wherein the processing entity is operable todetermine an audio element from a plurality of audio elements based atleast partially upon the identifier of the source device.
 36. A callprocessing system according to claim 35, wherein, to determine an audioelement from a plurality of audio elements, the processing entity isoperable to determine an indication of an audio file to convey to thesource device.
 37. A call processing system according to claim 36,wherein the indication of an audio file comprises a location of theaudio file within a database local to the call processing system; and,to initiate conveyance of the audio element to the source device, theprocessing entity is operable to access the audio file within thedatabase local to the call processing system and to play the audio fileto the source device over a media connection between the call processingsystem and the source device.
 38. A call processing system according toclaim 37 further comprising the database.
 39. A call processing systemaccording to claim 36, wherein the indication of an audio file comprisesa location of the audio file within a database remote from the callprocessing system; and wherein, to initiate conveyance of the audioelement to the source device, the processing entity is operable totransmit a request to the remote database to play the audio file over amedia connection between the remote database and the source device. 40.A call processing system according to claim 35, wherein, to determine anaudio element from a plurality of audio elements, the processing entityis operable to determine an indication of an audio stream broadcast on adata network to convey to the source device.
 41. A call processingsystem according to claim 40, wherein the indication of an audio streamcomprises a location on the data network of an audio stream source thatbroadcasts the audio stream; and wherein, to initiate conveyance of theaudio element to the source device, the processing entity is operable totransmit a request to the audio stream source to transmit the audiostream over a media connection between the audio stream source and thesource device.
 42. A call processing system according to claim 40,wherein the audio stream comprises at least one of a radio broadcast, anaudio portion of a television broadcast, a playlist of songs, a serviceannouncement broadcast, a set of one or more advertisement messages anda reading of information.
 43. A call processing system according toclaim 35, wherein, to determine an audio element from a plurality ofaudio elements, the processing entity is operable to locate schedulinginformation associated with the identifier of the source device within asource of scheduling information; and wherein, to initiate conveyance ofthe audio element to the source device, the processing entity isoperable to transmit an audio representation of the schedulinginformation associated with the identifier of the source device to thesource device.
 44. A call processing system according to claim 35,wherein the processing entity is operable to determine an audio elementfrom a plurality of audio elements further based at least partially uponthe identifier of the destination device.
 45. A call processing systemaccording to claim 44, wherein, to determine an audio element from aplurality of audio elements, the processing entity is operable to locatea message for a user of the source device associated with a user of thedestination device.
 46. A call processing system according to claim 45,wherein the processing entity is further operable to receive the messagefor the user of the source device associated with the user of thedestination device from the user of the source device prior to theoutgoing call.
 47. A call processing system according to claim 30,wherein, to determine an audio element from a plurality of audioelements to convey to the source device, the processing entity isoperable to select a subset of the plurality of audio elements based atleast partially upon the identifier of the source device and to selectan audio element to convey to the source device from the subset basedupon a random algorithm.
 48. A call processing system according to claim30, wherein, to determine an audio element from a plurality of audioelements to convey to the source device, the processing entity isoperable to select a subset of the plurality of audio elements based atleast partially upon the identifier of the source device and to selectan audio element to convey to the source device from the subset basedupon a predetermined order.
 49. A call processing system according toclaim 30, wherein, to determine an audio element from a plurality ofaudio elements to convey to the source device, the processing entity isoperable to select a subset of the plurality of audio elements based atleast partially upon the identifier of the source device and to selectan audio element to convey to the source device from the subset based atleast partially upon temporal information.
 50. A call processing systemaccording to claim 30, wherein the call request message comprises aSession Initiation Protocol (SIP) message that has been converted from aSignaling System 7 (SS7) message by a signaling converter thatpreviously received the SS7 message from a Service Switching Point (SSP)associated with the source device.
 51. A call processing systemaccording to claim 50, wherein the SS7 message comprises a TransactionCapabilities Application Part (TCAP) message initiated by an Off HookDelay trigger on the SSP.
 52. A call processing system according toclaim 30, wherein the call request message comprises a SIP message fromthe source device.
 53. A call processing system according to claim 30,wherein the processing entity is further operable to determine a timeperiod to convey the audio element; and wherein the processing entity isoperable to terminate conveyance of the audio element to the sourcedevice in response to the time period expiring.
 54. A call processingsystem according to claim 30, wherein, to cause establishment of a mediaconnection between the source and destination devices, the processingentity is operable to cause initiation of a media connection with thedestination device, to detect acceptance from the destination device ofthe outgoing call and to cause establishment of the media connectionbetween the source and destination devices in response to the acceptancefrom the destination device.
 55. A call processing system according toclaim 54, wherein the processing entity is operable to terminateconveyance of the audio element to the source device in response todetecting the acceptance from the destination device of the outgoingcall.
 56. A call processing system according to claim 54, wherein theprocessing entity is further operable to determine a minimum time periodto convey the audio element; and wherein the processing entity isoperable to cause initiation of a media connection with the destinationdevice in response to the minimum time period expiring.
 57. A callprocessing system according to claim 56, wherein processing entity isoperable to terminate conveyance of the audio element to the sourcedevice in response to detecting the acceptance from the destinationdevice of the outgoing call.
 58. A call processing system according toclaim 30, wherein the processing entity is further operable to determinea media element to convey to a display within the source device and toinitiate conveyance of the media element to the display within thesource device in response to receiving the call request message.
 59. Acall processing system according to claim 58, wherein the media elementcomprises at least one of a video element, an image element and a textelement.
 60. Computer-readable media containing a program elementexecutable by a call processing system to perform a method forcontrolling an outgoing call initiated by a source device to adestination device, the computer-readable media comprising: firstprogram code for receiving a call request message from the sourcedevice, the call request message comprising identifiers of the sourceand destination devices for the outgoing call; second program code fordetermining an audio element from a plurality of audio elements toconvey to the source device; third program code for initiatingconveyance of the audio element to the source device in response toreceiving the call request message from the source device; fourthprogram code for causing establishment of a media connection between thesource and destination devices; and fifth program code for terminatingconveyance of the audio element to the source device prior to orsubstantially simultaneous with the establishment of the mediaconnection between the source and destination devices.
 61. A methodimplemented by a call processing system for controlling an outgoing callinitiated by a source device, the method comprising: receiving aselection of an audio element from a user of the source device;receiving a call request message from the source device, the callrequest message comprising identifiers of the source device and adestination device for the outgoing call; initiating conveyance of theaudio element to the source device in response to receiving the callrequest message from the source device; causing establishment of a mediaconnection between the source and destination devices; and terminatingconveyance of the audio element to the source device prior to orsubstantially simultaneous with the establishment of the mediaconnection between the source and destination devices.
 62. A callprocessing system for controlling an outgoing call initiated by a sourcedevice, the system comprising: a processing entity operable to receive aselection of an audio element from a user of the source device; toreceive a call request message from the source device, the call requestmessage comprising identifiers of the source device and a destinationdevice for the outgoing call; and to initiate conveyance of the audioelement to the source device in response to receiving the call requestmessage from the source device; and a network interface operable tocause establishment of a media connection between the source anddestination devices; and wherein the processing entity is furtheroperable to terminate conveyance of the audio element to the sourcedevice prior to or substantially simultaneous with the establishment ofthe media connection between the source and destination devices.